Oh, the glories of a strength session! Let me see. Race Gear + 4? No worries, call it 99". Race Gear? No worries, call it 99". At least for the 82" match sprints I went back to 86". Hopefully I'll be getting a new chain ring, chain and cleats this week sometime...
So 99" 1/4, 1/4, 1/2 powerjumps from 10km/hrish, nothing terribly exciting. The two half-lap seated powerjumps from 25ish were slightly more interesting, got up to 53.2 on the first one after making more of a conscious effort to accelerate through the middle of the range.
But it was with the motorbike efforts that the fun really began. A 250m MACC on 99" was always going to lead to tears of joy. My jump, as always, was a bit suspect, but I worked to try to continue pushing through to get back on the roller and push the speed up as high as I could. And it worked reasonably, steadily accelerating for the first ~150m, hitting a top of just over 63 and maintaining over 60 almost to the line, probably back to 58 as I crossed. Not quite up to my goals yet, but progressing.
The 500m windout didn't quite go to plan - again on 99", this time no jump just a steady acceleration. And that went fine until turn 2, ~300m in, where I came too far forward on the saddle, had too much weight on the bars and started weaving all over the place, wobbling for King and Country. So instead of hooning down the back straight at 62/63, I dropped back to 58/59 and more or less sat there through the last 100m on my own to the line. Opportunity missed, though I still hit nearly 63.
That was originally supposed to be it, but we lined up for some more match sprint practice instead. I was paired with Nic, who was talking the whole way around about how he had nothing left. I didn't bother letting him know that I had nothing either! We had a bit of bumping practice through turn 1/2 as Nic tried to push me up the track and I decided that actually no, I like it here just fine thank you! So I was actually in a good position coming out of turn 2, right next to him with a bit more height and run off the bank. Trouble was, I couldn't jump! I just kinda rolled down and tried to accelerate in the saddle. I saw Nic get out and thought... nup. Not gonna happen. It was basically a race to turn three, see who could claim the lane, and I was never in danger of getting there. I'm frankly astounded that my garmin shows a max speed of 53-odd - I would have guessed I hit mid-40s at most! A good little bit of extra tactical experience though.
Showing posts with label MAC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MAC. Show all posts
13 November 2011
04 September 2011
DISC Session #20 with ABOC
Gods. Tonight was meant to look like this. Instead, it was windout after MAC after MAC after MAC after powerjump after powerjump after powerjump with about 10 minutes between each. Madness! And I suspect it's only going to get worse over the next few weeks...
But it went okay. I started off feeling fairly tired and stiff after yesterday, but the numbers held up - 43.9 in the 1/4 lap powerjumps, 52 in the half lap on 99". The first couple of pedal strokes felt pretty glacial though.
2x250m MACs and 1x375m MAC... tough. Still feeling tired, and I got quite a bit of slipping on the first MAC, but recorded 62.7km/hr, which I was happy with. Well, until I discovered that Neil hit over 71km/hr. So I've... got a ways to go. But we knows this. I was still accelerating throughout and hitting top speed around about the line in the first two, and in the final MAC added another couple of km/hr after coming out from behind the bike for the last 100m, accelerating to the line, so there's definite improvement noticeable. I'm just not going to win A-Grade next month! But that's okay. No, really.
Finished off the evening with a nice lazy (!) windout back on 86", up to 57.8/143 for what was essentially a warmdown, drafting the whole way. I was even able to pedal back in - after the MACs, I coasted (not free-wheeling, obviously, but you get the idea...), taking two or three laps to slow down because I didn't have the energy required to put backward pressure on the pedals, and considered running in to a foam-covered pole so that I could just fall off rather than having to unclip and step over the bars!
But it went okay. I started off feeling fairly tired and stiff after yesterday, but the numbers held up - 43.9 in the 1/4 lap powerjumps, 52 in the half lap on 99". The first couple of pedal strokes felt pretty glacial though.
2x250m MACs and 1x375m MAC... tough. Still feeling tired, and I got quite a bit of slipping on the first MAC, but recorded 62.7km/hr, which I was happy with. Well, until I discovered that Neil hit over 71km/hr. So I've... got a ways to go. But we knows this. I was still accelerating throughout and hitting top speed around about the line in the first two, and in the final MAC added another couple of km/hr after coming out from behind the bike for the last 100m, accelerating to the line, so there's definite improvement noticeable. I'm just not going to win A-Grade next month! But that's okay. No, really.
Finished off the evening with a nice lazy (!) windout back on 86", up to 57.8/143 for what was essentially a warmdown, drafting the whole way. I was even able to pedal back in - after the MACs, I coasted (not free-wheeling, obviously, but you get the idea...), taking two or three laps to slow down because I didn't have the energy required to put backward pressure on the pedals, and considered running in to a foam-covered pole so that I could just fall off rather than having to unclip and step over the bars!
21 August 2011
DISC Session #18 with ABOC
Fun night tonight at DISC - overgeared powerjumps, overgeared MACs, and some duckin' and divin'!
Well, over-geared-ish. I only go up to 99", which is perhaps a little overgeared for racing at DISC, but not by much these days, as I get stronger. I really needed something more like 107" to make it a real strength effort! Anyway, no dramas this week, everything stayed nice and solid for a change.
Powerjumps felt fairly good, possibly held back a little in the first one for fear of something going wrong, but not too much. The MACs were fun as always, though again I felt like I didn't push quite as hard as I might have done. Managed a top of 61.7/132 on 99" though, which is okay. Need to go faster!
We finished with a bit of ducking and diving as a skills drill, no sprinting, which was a more relaxed way of finishing off. The first set around I was a bit wobbly for some reason, not holding a good line while leading and having trouble keeping my eyes back. The second set was better - and faster, which probably helped. I don't think I'm quite up to A-grade level just yet, but perhaps by the end of the season, with continued training (and racing!) combined with losing more weight, I just might be competitive! It's something to aim for, anyway...
Well, over-geared-ish. I only go up to 99", which is perhaps a little overgeared for racing at DISC, but not by much these days, as I get stronger. I really needed something more like 107" to make it a real strength effort! Anyway, no dramas this week, everything stayed nice and solid for a change.
Powerjumps felt fairly good, possibly held back a little in the first one for fear of something going wrong, but not too much. The MACs were fun as always, though again I felt like I didn't push quite as hard as I might have done. Managed a top of 61.7/132 on 99" though, which is okay. Need to go faster!
We finished with a bit of ducking and diving as a skills drill, no sprinting, which was a more relaxed way of finishing off. The first set around I was a bit wobbly for some reason, not holding a good line while leading and having trouble keeping my eyes back. The second set was better - and faster, which probably helped. I don't think I'm quite up to A-grade level just yet, but perhaps by the end of the season, with continued training (and racing!) combined with losing more weight, I just might be competitive! It's something to aim for, anyway...
31 July 2011
DISC Session #15 with ABOC
Powerjumps and MACs... nothing too complicated tonight! The powerjumps were 1/4 lap, react to the lead rider, three thereof with three of us in the group so we each got a turn in each position. Nobody overtook anyone else, top speeds for me after 62.5m from ~15km/hr were all about 42-44 km/hr (on 86"), and the new Look Keos were fine - which is to say, I was fine in them!
MACs were also good - 250 followed by 375. The 250 I hit the roller 3 times in the windup, and again had to avoid the back of the bike on the catch, for a top of 59.8 on 99". The 375 was better, in that I only hit the roller the once in the windup, and the bike was going faster - which meant more chasing/less drafting, and more effort. So even though it was a longer effort, I still hit a higher top speed of 61.0/131RPM. Not so satisfying those numbers though, must get them higher.
At the end of the session I decided to join in the 'extra' gate starts - and promptly pulled a wheel. Annoying. It'd been fine all night, so the only thing I can think of is that it was fine for lower-power efforts like the MACs, or it wasn't quite in straight and so as I rode it worked itself ever so slightly loose. Should've checked it before I did them, but I'd done it up as tightly as I possibly could in the first place. Sigh. I keep on missing bits in this sort of way. Not that gate starts are essential, but they're useful additions and good for working strength on the bike rather than in the gym. Ah well. Not like I'm aiming for the Olympics I guess, but still, I'm not just here for shits and giggles!
Brief stats here.
MACs were also good - 250 followed by 375. The 250 I hit the roller 3 times in the windup, and again had to avoid the back of the bike on the catch, for a top of 59.8 on 99". The 375 was better, in that I only hit the roller the once in the windup, and the bike was going faster - which meant more chasing/less drafting, and more effort. So even though it was a longer effort, I still hit a higher top speed of 61.0/131RPM. Not so satisfying those numbers though, must get them higher.
At the end of the session I decided to join in the 'extra' gate starts - and promptly pulled a wheel. Annoying. It'd been fine all night, so the only thing I can think of is that it was fine for lower-power efforts like the MACs, or it wasn't quite in straight and so as I rode it worked itself ever so slightly loose. Should've checked it before I did them, but I'd done it up as tightly as I possibly could in the first place. Sigh. I keep on missing bits in this sort of way. Not that gate starts are essential, but they're useful additions and good for working strength on the bike rather than in the gym. Ah well. Not like I'm aiming for the Olympics I guess, but still, I'm not just here for shits and giggles!
Brief stats here.
24 July 2011
DISC Session #14 with ABOC
Well, an interestingly mixed session tonight. Two mechanical annoyances in the powerjumps - pulled a wheel (again!) in the first warmup, fixed it, and went back out and did it solo before doing a flying entry with Neil and Nic. Then after a tricky three-way-react-to-the-last-rider powerjump where I was in the middle (and finished last, though right on Nic's wheel, and hit about 50km/hr) I was leading out the second powerjump (need to work on watching/reacting, after all) when I pulled my foot out of the pedal - fortunately my automatic systems knew how to handle it because I don't think my pre-frontal cortex knew what had happened until I got down on to the duckboard, one leg flapping in the wind. Looking at the pedal/cleat afterwards, it really doesn't look that worn, but I'm going to put keos and straps on, see how they go. It's a shame, because I quite like the speedplays otherwise - at some point I'll probably fork out the $100-odd to rebuild them with track bodies.
Rest of the night was two MACs and a windout. No surprise I enjoy these more, because they involve going fast, and perhaps don't require as much work as my powerjumps! Though everything still needs work. The MACs I did on 99.7", and hit just over 60km/hr/130RPM for the first, and 59/125 for the second with only about 7 minutes rest between the two. On both I hit the roller a few times going around, and in the final hundred metres or so was actively avoiding the back of the bike - both times ending up around the blue line. Given that, quite happy with the numbers, though I'm hoping (wanting needing!) to go faster still.
Finished with a 500m windout from the blue line (no entry off the banking for this one) and again was sitting close to the roller though not to the extent of slowing me down - can't remember if I actually hit it again, though I think I did. 58km/hr at 142 (back to 86" for this one) is not bad, though I felt like I possibly cheated myself a little in effort. After that just doodled around a little trying to trackstand and then rolled as slowly as possible back to the racks. It didn't feel terribly elegant, but then, that's what practice is for!
Rest of the night was two MACs and a windout. No surprise I enjoy these more, because they involve going fast, and perhaps don't require as much work as my powerjumps! Though everything still needs work. The MACs I did on 99.7", and hit just over 60km/hr/130RPM for the first, and 59/125 for the second with only about 7 minutes rest between the two. On both I hit the roller a few times going around, and in the final hundred metres or so was actively avoiding the back of the bike - both times ending up around the blue line. Given that, quite happy with the numbers, though I'm hoping (wanting needing!) to go faster still.
Finished with a 500m windout from the blue line (no entry off the banking for this one) and again was sitting close to the roller though not to the extent of slowing me down - can't remember if I actually hit it again, though I think I did. 58km/hr at 142 (back to 86" for this one) is not bad, though I felt like I possibly cheated myself a little in effort. After that just doodled around a little trying to trackstand and then rolled as slowly as possible back to the racks. It didn't feel terribly elegant, but then, that's what practice is for!
10 July 2011
No Electronica!
That's right, I was completely naked for tonight's ABOC DISC session - I left my Garmin at home. As such, I am entirely confused about how I went this evening and know nothing about anything.
Well, perhaps not quite. New tyres tonight, so I was a bit concerned about the potential for slipping, but the sanding and vinegaring I did seemed to work and I had no problems on that score. I did still have slipping under acceleration but that's probably positional - though I hope that these tyres will help a bit. I was trying to focus on keeping my arms straight (I've been tending to hunch over the front with bent arms, especially in the powerjumps) but I'm not sure if it helped much or not! My main focus for the moment is transferring increased strength to the track, and slipping (sometimes for a good 50 metres) under acceleration isn't helping that.
Otherwise I was fairly happy with my efforts, the jumps did feel a bit stronger, and I was absolutely rooted after the 2 x 250m MACs, which is the way it should be. Interestingly I recovered better from the final 375m MAC than the 250s, which might have to do with the effort, or simply that there was just one of them. Hard to say. I also had a bit of a play on some rollers, which will take a bit of getting used to!
Well, perhaps not quite. New tyres tonight, so I was a bit concerned about the potential for slipping, but the sanding and vinegaring I did seemed to work and I had no problems on that score. I did still have slipping under acceleration but that's probably positional - though I hope that these tyres will help a bit. I was trying to focus on keeping my arms straight (I've been tending to hunch over the front with bent arms, especially in the powerjumps) but I'm not sure if it helped much or not! My main focus for the moment is transferring increased strength to the track, and slipping (sometimes for a good 50 metres) under acceleration isn't helping that.
Otherwise I was fairly happy with my efforts, the jumps did feel a bit stronger, and I was absolutely rooted after the 2 x 250m MACs, which is the way it should be. Interestingly I recovered better from the final 375m MAC than the 250s, which might have to do with the effort, or simply that there was just one of them. Hard to say. I also had a bit of a play on some rollers, which will take a bit of getting used to!
26 June 2011
DISC Session #10 with ABOC
Tonight was fun! And tough. I was still a little sore from yesterday, and tired thanks to catching up on sleep, but that only really affected me when I was sitting around and warming up.
We started off with Flying 100s, which I did on 99" and then 92", to get an idea for the difference. And the difference? Well, not much. Maximums of 56.3 at 120 on 99, 56.1 at 129 on 92. On first blush, looking at the shape of the graphs (by distance, not time) it might appear that the peak is rather more vertiginous for the 99" effort than for the 92" effort, but that's just an artefact of the total distance travelled - the actual entry plus 100m follows a very similar profile - peak speed just coming out of the first bend, speed drop of about 2km/hr for a sustained speed along the straight of about 54km/hr, and then the effort ends coming in to the next bend.
Even if you compare those two to my flying 200 of a bit over a week ago (which was on 92") the profile is similar (though top speed was a bit higher at 57.1) including the speed drop in the last 100m! Still, I don't feel like I'm jumping quite hard enough, even though I'm not trying to give it 100% at that point, because I have to last the distance. Say, maybe 95% for a F100, 90% for a F200. Not sure if that's what I should actually be doing though! Top speed of 56ish km/hr is too low though - even if I was not hitting the entry as hard so as to maintain speed, an average of 56km/hr only gives me a F200 time of 12.85s or so. Still getting tyre slip too - I've got some new tyres to put on which should hopefully be grippier, and just keep trying to get my position right accelerating out of the saddle.
I was pretty tired after that, and a bit concerned about the MACs and windout to come, but I was right when I said that I actually enjoy them - I was tired, but they didn't destroy me. I didn't do any of them perfectly though - I hit the roller on all of them, which may be okay, but it disrupts the rhythm. Especially coming around the bend to the point where the motorbike jumps and you have to respond to catch it. So I was a little slow there, though not too bad, but I did the same thing again coming around to the same point, where the bike accelerates again - except this time, I simply forgot that it was going to happen so I actually had to jump again rather than just accelerate in the slipstream. Which left me a little exposed. Not too bad, but stuff I need to work on. 62.2/143 and ?/141 (on 92") are reasonable results though - a good 4-5km/hr more than 3 weeks ago.
The windout was supposed to be on 82", but although I now have a 16T, my chain wasn't long enough to get it on, so I had to go for 86" on the 15T. Although again my form wasn't that great - touching the roller, not maintaining a very smooth line - I can't complain too much. I let the motorbike get away on the last straight, but I still managed a top of 60.5/149 and held my speed down the straight pretty well. Again, a good 5km/hr and 11RPM higher than 3 weeks ago.
So actually, now that I look properly at the stats and graphs and comparisons and so on, I'm quite happy with how things are going. It's a bit like losing weight, I guess, in that random variation (a brush of the roller, moment's inattention, whatever) can easily account for 2-3km/hr difference, and the improvement is incremental - and lower than the random variation. So you really need to step back a bit and say - hey, look, that's 5km/hr faster than only three weeks ago! Which is significant (though not as significant as it appears - 5 weeks ago I hit 59.1, only 1.4km/hr slower) as it confirms that yes, improvement is being made. Slowly, but it's real. The problem is that now I want to take all of my data, put it in a table and do actual statistical analysis of it. But I'm going to resist that because it's not even remotely worthwhile. This blog is already excessive analysis! Just so long as I record the information, reflect upon what I'm doing and use it for motivation. And let Carl know what I'm doing and how I feel about it, so that he can masterfully coach me towards perfection. Or, erm, something.
We started off with Flying 100s, which I did on 99" and then 92", to get an idea for the difference. And the difference? Well, not much. Maximums of 56.3 at 120 on 99, 56.1 at 129 on 92. On first blush, looking at the shape of the graphs (by distance, not time) it might appear that the peak is rather more vertiginous for the 99" effort than for the 92" effort, but that's just an artefact of the total distance travelled - the actual entry plus 100m follows a very similar profile - peak speed just coming out of the first bend, speed drop of about 2km/hr for a sustained speed along the straight of about 54km/hr, and then the effort ends coming in to the next bend.
Even if you compare those two to my flying 200 of a bit over a week ago (which was on 92") the profile is similar (though top speed was a bit higher at 57.1) including the speed drop in the last 100m! Still, I don't feel like I'm jumping quite hard enough, even though I'm not trying to give it 100% at that point, because I have to last the distance. Say, maybe 95% for a F100, 90% for a F200. Not sure if that's what I should actually be doing though! Top speed of 56ish km/hr is too low though - even if I was not hitting the entry as hard so as to maintain speed, an average of 56km/hr only gives me a F200 time of 12.85s or so. Still getting tyre slip too - I've got some new tyres to put on which should hopefully be grippier, and just keep trying to get my position right accelerating out of the saddle.
I was pretty tired after that, and a bit concerned about the MACs and windout to come, but I was right when I said that I actually enjoy them - I was tired, but they didn't destroy me. I didn't do any of them perfectly though - I hit the roller on all of them, which may be okay, but it disrupts the rhythm. Especially coming around the bend to the point where the motorbike jumps and you have to respond to catch it. So I was a little slow there, though not too bad, but I did the same thing again coming around to the same point, where the bike accelerates again - except this time, I simply forgot that it was going to happen so I actually had to jump again rather than just accelerate in the slipstream. Which left me a little exposed. Not too bad, but stuff I need to work on. 62.2/143 and ?/141 (on 92") are reasonable results though - a good 4-5km/hr more than 3 weeks ago.
The windout was supposed to be on 82", but although I now have a 16T, my chain wasn't long enough to get it on, so I had to go for 86" on the 15T. Although again my form wasn't that great - touching the roller, not maintaining a very smooth line - I can't complain too much. I let the motorbike get away on the last straight, but I still managed a top of 60.5/149 and held my speed down the straight pretty well. Again, a good 5km/hr and 11RPM higher than 3 weeks ago.
So actually, now that I look properly at the stats and graphs and comparisons and so on, I'm quite happy with how things are going. It's a bit like losing weight, I guess, in that random variation (a brush of the roller, moment's inattention, whatever) can easily account for 2-3km/hr difference, and the improvement is incremental - and lower than the random variation. So you really need to step back a bit and say - hey, look, that's 5km/hr faster than only three weeks ago! Which is significant (though not as significant as it appears - 5 weeks ago I hit 59.1, only 1.4km/hr slower) as it confirms that yes, improvement is being made. Slowly, but it's real. The problem is that now I want to take all of my data, put it in a table and do actual statistical analysis of it. But I'm going to resist that because it's not even remotely worthwhile. This blog is already excessive analysis! Just so long as I record the information, reflect upon what I'm doing and use it for motivation. And let Carl know what I'm doing and how I feel about it, so that he can masterfully coach me towards perfection. Or, erm, something.
05 June 2011
DISC Session #7 with ABOC
So the plan for tonight was for a solid session, with 3 x powerjumps and 2 x 375m MACs, with a 100m rider-only sprint at the end. Solid, but doable.
So what happens? 3 x powerjumps, 3 x MACs and a lazy 500m windout as a 'warmdown'. Bugger. By the third MAC I just felt that I couldn't go on, and trundled around at what felt like 80%.
Funny thing is, looking at my stats, though I was down it wasn't by much - top speeds of 58.6, 56.5 and 56.5. Lower than last week, true, but I also hit the roller - the entry speed was lower. I'm not quite sure what to make of that yet! I didn't think I'd be able to last the 500m windout, but it was fine - and again, hit the roller on the back of the motorbike, this time on the finishing straight! Maybe it means that I'm getting better at putting in maximum effort, even when I think I'm done like a roast chook.
Mind you, looking at the video (which is the last two MACs and the windout) the acceleration on the second MAC was definitely worse - it's just that I managed to catch up to the same speed as on the second effort (first on the video.)
Nothing much to report from the powerjumps, first two against Dave, hit a top speed of 51.6. Third against Wayne, he was jumping from behind but he went so late (I was already entering the bend!) that I'd stopped looking, thinking that he was going on the next lap. He came up on my outside and I tried to jump and go with him, but couldn't catch him - only 3/4 of a bike length or so in it though.
Finished up by going to Nandos and eating half a chooken. Reward for effort!
Brief stats here. Oh, I should mention, in case anyone cares, that the first lap should be the warmup, and then each lap after that should be one effort each. Sometimes I forget to hit the lap button, but that's the general idea.
So what happens? 3 x powerjumps, 3 x MACs and a lazy 500m windout as a 'warmdown'. Bugger. By the third MAC I just felt that I couldn't go on, and trundled around at what felt like 80%.
Funny thing is, looking at my stats, though I was down it wasn't by much - top speeds of 58.6, 56.5 and 56.5. Lower than last week, true, but I also hit the roller - the entry speed was lower. I'm not quite sure what to make of that yet! I didn't think I'd be able to last the 500m windout, but it was fine - and again, hit the roller on the back of the motorbike, this time on the finishing straight! Maybe it means that I'm getting better at putting in maximum effort, even when I think I'm done like a roast chook.
Mind you, looking at the video (which is the last two MACs and the windout) the acceleration on the second MAC was definitely worse - it's just that I managed to catch up to the same speed as on the second effort (first on the video.)
Nothing much to report from the powerjumps, first two against Dave, hit a top speed of 51.6. Third against Wayne, he was jumping from behind but he went so late (I was already entering the bend!) that I'd stopped looking, thinking that he was going on the next lap. He came up on my outside and I tried to jump and go with him, but couldn't catch him - only 3/4 of a bike length or so in it though.
Finished up by going to Nandos and eating half a chooken. Reward for effort!
Brief stats here. Oh, I should mention, in case anyone cares, that the first lap should be the warmup, and then each lap after that should be one effort each. Sometimes I forget to hit the lap button, but that's the general idea.
29 May 2011
DISC Session #6 with ABOC
Well that was an interesting session! I got to DISC earlier than usual (though still not as early as most of the other sprinters) so as to do a proper sort of warmup without being too rushed. That started off fine, spinning on the trainer, before going out on to the track to do a couple of efforts. First powerjump and CRACK! Pull the wheel forward in the dropouts, but manage to roll back to the infield without drama. This after I specifically checked the tightness of the nuts or lugs or whatever the hell they're called.
So that was a little frustrating, but no great drama although I rubbed a bit of rubber off the tyre and paint off the frame. I headed out for the 1/4 lap powerjumps from ~10km/hr paired up with Nic again. First effort I was behind, too close and too wide so that when I jumped, he saw me easily and held me off without any problems. Second round, Nic behind, he sat much further back than I had, more directly behind and accelerated in the saddle to start with. He got the jump and went around me with ease.
Rolling around afterwards, he let me know how stupid I was - always something to appreciate in a training partner! He let me know exactly what he'd been doing in the second round, and why, and how he'd been able to hold me off in the first round, and why. Useful stuff!
So this should be the bit where I tell you I beat him next time? No. Not quite. I stayed further back, closer to his 6 o'clock, accelerated in the saddle, threw a feint, and finally went later than usual, but he still held me off. Was closer though. One thing I noticed was that he stayed down really low, and moved up the track a bit as I jumped, which forced me to go around, rather than in a straight line, and to think for a second - probably just about enough.
Last round I lead out again, staying down low and focussing more on keeping an eye on him than maintaining my line. Which meant that I was down on the blue a bit, and we got yelled at by Carl to get up on the track. So I did, still keeping an eye on Nic, and jumped at a point which was a combination of a) looking like Nic was accelerating (in the saddle) and b) getting too close to the turn to feel I'd be able to accelerate fast enough to stay on the track through the banking! I managed to take the win on that one, although I was unsure if I'd reacted to Nic jumping, or just jumped. I tend to have a sneaking suspicion in such cases that I've ended up jumping first rather than reacting. Given that I normally react too slowly, it could just be that I need to recalibrate my senses.
After that we were switching to 250m MACs. What are they? Well, they're kinda like windouts, except they're shorter and you roll around on the blue line before diving in to the lane behind the motorbike for a lap, accelerating at each corner so as to go really fast. Fun! But before I could get out there, first was the traditional mechanical problem - Nic loaned me a 51T chainring so that I could get ~92" (spares have been ordered and should hopefully get here for next week) rather than 86" or 99" which is all I've got otherwise. So I hurriedly got that on (as hurriedly as I could, having never done it before) just in time, only to realise - my chain was too short! I could just barely get it on, but it pulled my wheel too far forward so that it was rubbing on the frame. So bugger, had to take it all off again, swap back to the 48T, and rush out on to the track to do my first effort after everyone else had already come back for a rest! So I nipped out there, straight up to 40km/hr, dived behind the bike and went all-out for a lap. And was well rewarded - 62.9km/hr at 155RPM. Noice! As I said to Carl afterwards, stealing a phrase from Douglas Adams "Like an orgasm without the foreplay!" Probably describes all of track sprint, really.
After a short break, it was back up to the fence (last in line, thank you! Needed a bit of recovery time) to do it all again. This time I swapped to 99" to see what would happen. I felt good behind the bike, perhaps a bit slow in matching the acceleration on 99" (though again, lots of rear-wheel slip. Doesn't bother me now, but surely it's detracting from acceleration) but caught the bike fine and stayed with it. Looking at the max speed afterwards, I thought that the first effort was the fastest, but it turns out that I actually hit 62.2 and then 62.9 again in the other efforts, so I held on through the session well even though I felt like bursting. In my last effort in the last corner I actually backed off slightly (mentally at least, and maybe softpedalled a bit, it's hard to remember!) because I was going to hit the bike. I hear tell that perhaps you lose less momentum (unless you hit really hard) hitting the roller than you do soft pedalling, so perhaps next time I'll have to try that instead.
And now, video:
Brief stats here.
So that was a little frustrating, but no great drama although I rubbed a bit of rubber off the tyre and paint off the frame. I headed out for the 1/4 lap powerjumps from ~10km/hr paired up with Nic again. First effort I was behind, too close and too wide so that when I jumped, he saw me easily and held me off without any problems. Second round, Nic behind, he sat much further back than I had, more directly behind and accelerated in the saddle to start with. He got the jump and went around me with ease.
Rolling around afterwards, he let me know how stupid I was - always something to appreciate in a training partner! He let me know exactly what he'd been doing in the second round, and why, and how he'd been able to hold me off in the first round, and why. Useful stuff!
So this should be the bit where I tell you I beat him next time? No. Not quite. I stayed further back, closer to his 6 o'clock, accelerated in the saddle, threw a feint, and finally went later than usual, but he still held me off. Was closer though. One thing I noticed was that he stayed down really low, and moved up the track a bit as I jumped, which forced me to go around, rather than in a straight line, and to think for a second - probably just about enough.
Last round I lead out again, staying down low and focussing more on keeping an eye on him than maintaining my line. Which meant that I was down on the blue a bit, and we got yelled at by Carl to get up on the track. So I did, still keeping an eye on Nic, and jumped at a point which was a combination of a) looking like Nic was accelerating (in the saddle) and b) getting too close to the turn to feel I'd be able to accelerate fast enough to stay on the track through the banking! I managed to take the win on that one, although I was unsure if I'd reacted to Nic jumping, or just jumped. I tend to have a sneaking suspicion in such cases that I've ended up jumping first rather than reacting. Given that I normally react too slowly, it could just be that I need to recalibrate my senses.
After that we were switching to 250m MACs. What are they? Well, they're kinda like windouts, except they're shorter and you roll around on the blue line before diving in to the lane behind the motorbike for a lap, accelerating at each corner so as to go really fast. Fun! But before I could get out there, first was the traditional mechanical problem - Nic loaned me a 51T chainring so that I could get ~92" (spares have been ordered and should hopefully get here for next week) rather than 86" or 99" which is all I've got otherwise. So I hurriedly got that on (as hurriedly as I could, having never done it before) just in time, only to realise - my chain was too short! I could just barely get it on, but it pulled my wheel too far forward so that it was rubbing on the frame. So bugger, had to take it all off again, swap back to the 48T, and rush out on to the track to do my first effort after everyone else had already come back for a rest! So I nipped out there, straight up to 40km/hr, dived behind the bike and went all-out for a lap. And was well rewarded - 62.9km/hr at 155RPM. Noice! As I said to Carl afterwards, stealing a phrase from Douglas Adams "Like an orgasm without the foreplay!" Probably describes all of track sprint, really.
After a short break, it was back up to the fence (last in line, thank you! Needed a bit of recovery time) to do it all again. This time I swapped to 99" to see what would happen. I felt good behind the bike, perhaps a bit slow in matching the acceleration on 99" (though again, lots of rear-wheel slip. Doesn't bother me now, but surely it's detracting from acceleration) but caught the bike fine and stayed with it. Looking at the max speed afterwards, I thought that the first effort was the fastest, but it turns out that I actually hit 62.2 and then 62.9 again in the other efforts, so I held on through the session well even though I felt like bursting. In my last effort in the last corner I actually backed off slightly (mentally at least, and maybe softpedalled a bit, it's hard to remember!) because I was going to hit the bike. I hear tell that perhaps you lose less momentum (unless you hit really hard) hitting the roller than you do soft pedalling, so perhaps next time I'll have to try that instead.
And now, video:
Brief stats here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)